Bayshore sewerage authority needs $20M for Sandy repairs

To repair damage caused by Sandy

May 10, 2013

Written by

@ginacolumbusapp

The Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority needs to spend $20 million to repair the water damage it sustained after superstorm Sandy.

All eight towns BRSA serves — Hazlet, Union Beach, Holmdel, Aberdeen, Keansburg, Keyport, Matawan and parts of Marlboro — have to approve the authority’s new agreement before it can bond, Robert Fischer, BRSA executive director, said.

Holmdel and Hazlet were the the first towns to sign off on the contract when elected officials approved it Tuesday night.

Keyport, Matawan, Aberdeen, Union Beach, Keansburg, and Western Monmouth Utilities Authority — which handles the parts of Marlboro — will need to approve the agreement next.

All eight towns are expected to approve the new contracts, which include the bonding, Fischer said. But if one town doesn’t approve, it would make it difficult for BRSA to bond to treat their sewer system.

“It’s possible that the bonding would be held up,” said Fischer, adding he believes none of the towns would oppose the contract.

BRSA’s 24-acre sewerage treatment plant was three feet underwater from Sandy, Fischer said. BRSA also had damage to all of its electrical components, main sewer pumps and sludge incineration.

It’s too early to say if sewer rates will be affected by the bond, but if FEMA’s reimbursement comes through, there shouldn’t be a rate increase, Fischer said.

“At the present time, it doesn’t look like it would have an effect on the rates,” said Fischer. “With the FEMA reimbursement by 75 percent, and the surplus and our insurance, we should be able to avoid a rate increase.”

The authority is located in Union Beach and treats the waste water from the eight municipalities in the county. The plant is operating, Fischer said, is handling all flows that come in and meets permit requirements by state and federal governments. However, BRSA cannot process sludge on-site; employees need to take the sludge and transport it to Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority in Princeton to use their sludge incinerator.

“Between Hurricane Irene and Sandy ... we’ve seen two other big storms in two years,” said Fischer. “You have to be prepared that this can and will happen again.”